Protecting the poor from the plague of violence

"I do not want any one of us to be victims of human trafficking." –Cang, Vietnam. (Photo: 2013 Nguyen Thai Minh Minh/World Vision)

Today, our friends at International Justice Mission write about the everyday violence that is plaguing the developing world … and the new book they're launching today!

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Between the Super Bowl yesterday and the Winter Olympics opening ceremony this Friday, human trafficking has been in the spotlight recently. And it should be. There’s a common belief that major sports events exacerbate trafficking, and while that may not be true, it also doesn’t mean that trafficking isn’t a problem at those events.

The unfortunate truth is that human trafficking is a real and serious problem every day. Everywhere. There are more than 20 million people around the world that are held in slavery today – more than at any other time in human history: ancient Rome, pre-Civil War America, etc.

20 million people. That’s everyone in Florida, the whole citizenship of Romania, or almost the entire population of Australia.

And children make up almost half that number.

Today, our friends at International Justice Mission are launching a book by their president Gary A. Haugen, The Locust Effect, about the plague of everyday violence and its effect on the poor.

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At International Justice Mission, we’re honored to work alongside World Vision to pursue our shared passion for serving the poorest and most vulnerable people. While World Vision gives impoverished children the chance to thrive, it also takes steps like raising awareness of trafficking in Bangladesh, and providing restorative care for trafficking survivors in Cambodia.

This work is critical – because the poorest people are desperately vulnerable to violence. According to the United Nations, there are 4 billion people living in places where their justice systems do not offer them protection from violence. That is most poor people in the world.

Just imagine if you woke up every day knowing that your justice system couldn’t protect you from violent people, or hold them accountable for their crimes. For the poorest children around the world, this is reality. But it’s a reality that a growing movement is coming together to change. When justice systems effectively protect the poor from violence, they also safeguard the fruit of our efforts to help children thrive.